Self-illuminated attitude indicator and method for self-rescue from avalanche

ABSTRACT

A self-illuminating attitude indicator for use by persons who have been buried in snow or the earth. The attitude indicator has a container partially filled with liquid and a manually operated light to illuminate the container. The liquid may be removed from the container and distributed on the snow to make the location more visible to rescuers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/222,063, filed Aug. 1, 2000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention relates to an apparatus and method for determiningan individual's orientation with respect to the Earth when buried insnow or mud.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] At present, persons buried in the snow or elsewhere arefrequently unable to determine the direction of the surface. Avalanchevictims have been found after having dug through ten feet of snowparallel to the surface. Other victims have been found deceased afterhaving obviously been conscious for several hours while buried. The onlyexisting method for determining the direction of the surface is toexpectorate saliva and try to determine which direction the saliva movesas a result of gravity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention provides a self-illuminated attitudeindicator optimized for use by persons buried in snow or mud. A furtherfeature of the invention is the method of using a smallself-illuminating attitude indicator to determine the upward direction,thereby permitting the buried person to most quickly extricatethemselves from the snow or mud. An optional feature of the presentinvention is the use of a liquid which also may be used as a dye markerin snow or ice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages ofthis invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomebetter understood by reference to the following detailed description,when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0006]FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a self-illuminated attitudeindicator in accordance with the present invention.

[0007]FIG. 2 is a front elevation corresponding to FIG. 1, but withparts shown in section.

[0008]FIG. 3 is a bottom front perspective of the self-illuminatedattitude indicator of FIG. 1 with parts shown in exploded relationship.

[0009]FIG. 4 is an illustration of a person buried in the snow using theself-illuminated attitude indicator of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0010] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, one embodiment of a self-illuminatedattitude indicator 1 in accordance with the present invention has acasing 2 containing a light assembly 3 and a container 4 partiallyfilled with a colored liquid 5. When activated, the light assembly 3illuminates the liquid container 4 and the colored liquid 5 for viewingthrough an opening or window 7, as described more fully below.

[0011] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the casing 2 is an elongated,substantially tubular shell 6 of any rigid material such as metal,plastic, or other materials known to those skilled in the art. Theopening or window 7 is provided on one side of the shell 6, so that partof the liquid container 4 may be viewed within the casing. The casing 2includes a bottom end cap 8, threadably attached to the tubular shell 6,and a top end cap 9 threadably attached to the opposite end of the shell6. In another embodiment, the casing 2 is a unitary structure. Inalternative embodiments, the tubular shell 6 and/or end cap 8 aretextured or grooved in a checkered pattern for aiding users in grippingthe shell and end cap.

[0012] The liquid container 4 can be formed of any translucent material,preferably shock resistant plastic, and it is preferably in the form ofa flexible tube. It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that theliquid container 4 may be made of other materials, however, it muststill be possible to view the liquid within the container. Liquidcontainer 4 is preferably sized such that it is snugly fit within theshell 6 without excessive movement. In the embodiment shown, the liquidcontainer 4 is configured with a cap 10 at the bottom. The cap can bebroken off to release the colored liquid 5. In another embodiment, thetop of liquid container 4 opposite the cap 10 is crimped closed.

[0013] The colored liquid 5 partially fills the liquid container 4,leaving an air bubble 11. Referring to FIG. 1, the window 6 in thecasing 2 is large enough and positioned so that the colored liquid 5 andthe air bubble 11 may be observed when the self-illuminating attitudeindicator is upright, thereby indicating the upward direction.

[0014] The colored liquid 5 is preferably resistant to freezing at themajority of temperatures known to naturally occur on the surface of theearth. An example of such a colored liquid 5 is a mixture of 70%isopropyl alcohol and 30% food coloring. The colored liquid 5 shouldalso be of such a viscosity that it reacts to adjustments in theposition of the apparatus at these temperatures. In one embodiment ofthe invention, the colored liquid 5 reacts very quickly to adjustmentsin the position of the apparatus. In another embodiment of theinvention, the colored liquid 5 is of such a viscosity that it may besquirted from the liquid container 4 at these various temperatures.

[0015] The light assembly 3 includes a light-emitting diode 12, abattery 13, and a switch 14. The light-emitting diode 12 is held inplace by a reflector 15 and covered at the bottom by a lens 16. In otherembodiments the light source may be any small, durable light source, andmay be positioned anywhere it illuminates the liquid container 4. Thelight-emitting diode 12, the battery 13, and the switch 14 are all inelectrical communication with one another as would be known by one ofordinary skill in the art. In the embodiment shown, the switch 14 is anormally open, momentary push button switch that remains closed as longas pressure is applied. The switch 14 protrudes from the top end cap 9and includes a small padeye 17. In other embodiments the switch may beany manually activated switch and may be located anywhere on theself-illuminated attitude indicator. Padeye 17 permits theself-illuminating attitude indicator to be attached to one's clothing byany known means for attaching items to clothing, such as string, wire,safety pins, etc. In another embodiment, the small padeye is omitted.

[0016] The illustrative embodiment, as described above, is ideallysuited for use by persons buried in snow or mud. Such persons are oftendisoriented and unable to determine the direction of the surface.Referring to FIG. 4, the buried person 18 is completely surrounded bysnow 19 and is grasping the self-illuminated attitude indicator 1. Thereis not any natural illumination to aid the buried person 18 indetermining his orientation. The self-illuminating attitude indicator 1has been worn on the lanyard 20 around the buried person's neck. Theburied person 18 grips the self-illuminating attitude indicator 1,illuminates the colored liquid 5 by switching on the light-emittingdiode 12 and, by observing the position of the colored liquid 5 and theair bubble 11 within the liquid container 4, positions theself-illuminating attitude indicator 1 so that it is orientedvertically, thereby indicating the direction he or she should dig. Whenthe self-illuminating attitude indicator 1 has been properly positionedto indicate the up direction, the colored liquid 5 collects at thebottom of the liquid container 4 and the air bubble 11 is forced to thetop.

[0017] In the illustrated embodiment, once the buried person 18 has dugfree of the snow, if it were helpful the end cap 8 can be detached, theliquid container 4 removed from the casing 2, the liquid container cap10 can be opened and, by application of pressure to the liquid container4, the colored liquid 5 distributed on the snow to make the locationmore visible to rescuers.

[0018] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has beenillustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changescan be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A self-illuminatedattitude indicator comprising: a casing; a removable liquid and agaseous bubble contained within the casing; the casing operable fordispensing the liquid; a window in the casing enabling viewing of theliquid and the gaseous bubble; and a light source mounted and orientedin the casing to illuminate the liquid and the gaseous bubble.
 2. Theself-illuminated attitude indicator of claim 1, wherein the liquidremains in a liquid state at all temperatures naturally occurring on thesurface of Earth.
 3. The self-illuminated attitude indicator of claim 1,wherein the liquid is colored.
 4. The self-illuminated attitudeindicator of claim 1, further comprising a removable, liquid-tightcontainer mounted in the casing; the container having a translucentportion enabling viewing of the liquid and the gaseous bubble; and thecontainer operable for dispensing the liquid.
 5. The self-illuminatedattitude indicator of claim 4, wherein: the container is flexible; thecontainer having a small hole; and the container further comprising aremovable cap blocking the small hole; whereby the container is operablefor spraying the liquid by removing the cap and squeezing the container.6. The self-illuminated attitude indicator of claim 5, wherein theliquid remains in a liquid state at all temperatures naturally occurringon the surface of Earth.
 7. The self-illuminated attitude indicator ofclaim 6, wherein the liquid is colored.
 8. A self-illuminated attitudeindicator comprising: a casing having a hollow shell and at least oneremovable end cap; a removable, liquid-tight container mounted in theshell; a liquid and a gaseous bubble contained within the container; thecontainer enabling viewing of the liquid and the gaseous bubble andoperable for dispensing the liquid; a window in the shell enablingviewing of the liquid and the gaseous bubble from the exterior of thecasing; and a light source mounted and oriented in the casing toilluminate the contents of the container.
 9. The self-illuminatedattitude indicator of claim 8, wherein: the container is flexible; thecontainer having a small hole; and the container further comprising aremovable cap blocking the small hole; whereby the container is operablefor spraying the liquid by removing the cap and squeezing the container.10. The self-illuminated attitude indicator of claim 9, wherein theliquid remains in a liquid state at all temperatures naturally occurringon the surface of Earth.
 11. The self-illuminated attitude indicator ofclaim 9, wherein the liquid is colored.
 12. A self-illuminated attitudeindicator comprising: a tubular casing having a hollow shell and a firstand second threadably attached removable end cap at each end; a normallyopen, momentary button switch mounted on the first casing end cap; abattery having a first end and a second end; the battery being mountedin the shell with the first battery end near the first casing end cap; afrustoconical reflector mounted in the shell adjacent to the secondbattery end; a light-emitting diode mounted in the frustoconicalreflector; a lens mounted in the shell adjacent to the frustoconicalreflector; means for electrically connecting the switch, thelight-emitting diode, and the battery; a translucent, tubular,removable, liquid-tight container having a first end and a second end;the container being mounted in the shell with the first container endadjacent to the lens and the second container end adjacent to the secondcasing end cap; the second container end having a removable cap; aliquid and a gaseous bubble contained within the container; and a windowin the shell aligned with the container for viewing the liquid and thegaseous bubble from the exterior of the casing.
 13. The method ofassisting in the rescue of oneself from having been completely buried insnow or earth, the method comprising: illuminating and viewing theliquid and bubble in a translucent, partially full container of liquid;orienting the container so that the bubble indicates the up direction;and digging in the up direction so indicated until reaching the surface.14. The method of claim 13, further comprising distributing the liquidonto the surrounding snow or earth upon reaching the surface.